FML means family
by Obsessive Reader22
Summary: Ranger is assigned to protect an Army wife against a group of terrorists who are looking for revenge. Not sure exactly where I am going with this..read and review to let me know if I should continue.
1. Chapter 1

I pulled into my girlfriend, Lynn, snow-packed driveway, and sighed. She had been watching my youngest child, Soren while I ran errands and I was so not ready to pick him up. He wasn't a bad child, just very…energetic. For a three year old it wasn't anything extreme…but none the less exhausting. Cranking the engine off and stowing my keys and cell phone in my pocket I opened my door.

"Excuse me." A deep voice said as I closed my door.

The man's voice startled me, causing me to slip on the ice and snow trodden drive. Large dark hands gently grasped around my waist saving me from crashing, more than likely, onto my face.

"Jesus!" I yelped, pushing myself upright and out of the man's grasp before turning around. "You scared the sh.." I stopped mid-sentence as I turned around twisting quickly out of his grip and coming face to face with the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. "Holy Shit." I whispered.

The man had dark skin, a little lighter than milk chocolate, with short shiny black hair. His eyes were intense making the dark brown color almost black. Looking up at his face, as he was a good three or four inches taller than my 5'9", I noticed a small smile curl up the edges of his perfectly proportioned lips.

"Mrs. Coillier?" He asked, his voice soft. I nodded dumbly, unsure that my mouth would actually operate. "Mrs. Anne Coillier?"

I cleared my throat. "Yes. I'm Anne Coillier. Can I help you?" I glanced back at my Lynn's house to see her leaning against her kitchen sink at the pair of us.

He reached into the pocket of his black leather jacket and pulled out a card.

"My name is Carlos Manoso. I need to speak to you." It had began to snow again and I watched, open-mouthed, as snow softly gathered on his wide shoulders. Shaking my head I eyed the man. He was wearing black CAT boots, black cargo pants and a black sweatshirt under his leather jacket. Creepy, I thought to myself, normally only serial killers, cops and special forces guys wear all black.

"Ummm…I am really busy right now." I said, shuffling uneasily towards the steps leading into Lynn's kitchen. "Maybe I can call you later, and set up an appointment or something." I turned my back, holding his business card over my shoulder. "I have your number." Clicking the automatic locks on my key remote, I reached for the door. Before I could open it, a hand grasped onto my shoulder.

"Ma'am, this isn't something that can wait. I'm going to have to speak to you now." His voice was stern, but not unfriendly. Never the less, it made an involuntary shiver run up my spine. As a military wife, I learned early that strange men in uniform (no matter what they looked like) were bad news. I turned, looking into the man's eyes. He was still standing on the ground, making him face to face with me one step up.

"I don't know if I feel comfortable with strange men coming up to me and forcing their attention onto me. I am a married woman." I forced my voice to remain calm. "If you would like to have this conversation with my husband present, I can have that arranged."

"If that would make you more comfortable, that can be arranged." He flipped out his phone and began dialing.

"Are you calling him?" I asked, nervous at the implications of this man knowing my husband's personal cell phone number.

"Would you rather?" He flipped his phone shut.

"Yes, in fact I would." I pulled out my phone, staring at it for a moment. It was one in the afternoon, and I knew for a fact that he was going to be in the middle of teaching a class. He wouldn't answer the phone even if I called. I swore softly under my breath. "How about this? You let me go inside for a moment and talk with my girlfriend. This is her house, as I am sure that you are aware, and I know for a fact that she is sitting on the other side of this door freaking out."

"We will wait here." He crossed his arms and planted his feet squarely above his shoulders in a stance that screamed 'don't fuck with me, lady'.

"We?" I asked, looking beyond him. He motioned his head towards a large black SUV parked right behind me. Well shit, I thought. How did I miss that?

"My team."

I nodded before wrenching open Lynn's front door and stepping inside.

"Oh my God!" She screamed quietly. "Who the hell is that?"

"I have no freaking clue." I told her reaching into my pocket and extracting his business card. "He says that he has to talk to me…like NOW."

"Creepy." She took the card out of my hand. "Carlos Manoso..it says that he owns a company called Rangeman Securities. What the fuck do you think that means?"

"I have no clue." I shuffled past her and grabbed a cup out of the cabinet next to the refrigerator and got myself some coffee. As I was stirring in my favorite creamer I asked."How was Soren?"

"Good." She grabbed her cup and refilled it, adding cream and sugar. "He's sleeping right now…little bugger got a hold of the cat again. Fritz is gonna have a bald spot for a while."

I groaned, closing my eyes and leaning against the counter top. "Shit, I am so sorry, Lynn."

Shrugging her shoulders she smiled. "It's the cat's own damned fault. He knows not to tempt the beast."

I laughed, knowing exactly what she means. Soren was a little beast, but Lynn loved watching him.

"So.." she said after a moment's pause. "What are we gonna do about Rambo sitting outside. "Want me to call Jake and have him get rid of him?" I laughed and shook my head no. Jake was her husband. At 6'4" not many men would want to be gotten rid of by him.

"I think I should just see what he has to say." I looked out the door's glass pane to find him standing in the same position that he had been in when I left him. "He doesn't look like he is going anywhere does it?"

She laughed, which made me giggle like a teenager. "Let me put on some more coffee and you can bring him in here." She waved her hand towards the small kitchen table. "I even have some cookies I made for the kids' afternoon snack."

"He doesn't look like the kind of guy that eats cookies, does he?" I took another sip of my coffee and glanced again at the mysterious man at the door.

"Probably not." She poured what was left of the coffee into a carafe before setting it on the table and began working on another fresh pot. "But he does look like he could eat your soul."

I snorted, coffee almost spewing all over. "Jesus Christ on roller-skates." I gasped. "Give a girl some notice, will ya''?"

"Alright, let the beast in." She motioned toward the door, and set a plate of sugar cookies on the small kitchen table.

I swigged the last of my coffee, setting the cup in my usual spot at the small table and sighed. I pulled open the door.

"Come on in." I motioned inside. "We've got coffee and cookies. Let's have our little chat inside, without the snow."

"Yes, ma'am." He shook the snow off of himself, and wiped his feet before stepping inside.

"But before we start this whole conversation." I began, putting my hands on my hips. "You call me ma'am one more time and you're getting booted out on your ass."

He chuckled, and nodded his head. "That shouldn't be a problem. What should I call you?"

"Anne would be fine." I stepped back and heard a gasp from Lynn. I shook my head, realizing that Lynn finally saw how gorgeous he was. "This is my friend, Lynn Thompson."

"Lynn." She stuck out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Lynn. Carlos Manoso." He smiled, a perfect set of whites and dimples. "You can call me Ranger if you'd like."

"Nice to meet you too, Ranger." She said, turning to waggle her eyebrows at me. "Sit. How would you like your coffee?"

"Black." He said, pulling up the chair facing the door.

Lynn poured him a cup of coffee and refilled both her and my cup before we all took a seat.

"So.." I wrapped my hands around my cup and blew softly to cool it. "What can I do for you, Ranger?"

He set his cup down and folded his hands on top of the table. "Do you know a Mr. Francis Anderson?"

"Fuck me." I shook my head. "Yes? What did he do now?"

"You mean…THE Frank?" Lynn exclaimed. "Your old boyfriend, Frank?" I nodded, twisting one of my twin French braids in my fingers.

"Mr. Anderson has deflected, Anne." He stated as if I knew the implications of it. Sensing my confusion. "He has decided to send Intel to a group of Afghani militants that are affiliated with Al-Qaida. He has since gone missing. The last known information that we have is that he is coming after you before attempting to skip out of the country. From what we have gathered, he has a rather…dangerous obsession with you."

"Yeah. You could say that. Psycho ex-boyfriend should have been my minor in college." I groaned exasperated and thunked my head on the table. "Bobby is going to be pissed." I lifted my head to find his face completely impassive. "So, why exactly does that bring you here to me. I mean, it's not like I'm going to hide him, or go with him."

"Actually, that's not it." His voice was just as without emotion as his facial expression. "There are a few people that are looking for him because of…let's call them…bad business deals. They found out about you, and are hoping to get to you first as leverage on getting their money back from him."

I began to shake. "Me?" I squeaked out, trying to take deep calming breaths. Lynn placed a hand on my back and started making slow strokes across my shoulder blades. "Oh, God…my children."

"Your children will be safe. We are here to make sure of your safety as well as your family's."

A blood curdling scream echoed from the living room, and all three of us jumped to our feet.

"I'll get him." Lynn said, rubbing my upper arm comfortingly. "It'll be okay, hon."

I looked over at Ranger, who was still standing, hand on his back and eyes darting dangerously around.

"Relax." I chuckled softly, as I sat back down. "It's just Soren. You don't have children, do you?"

"Actually, I do." He said. "But she never made that sound that I am aware of. Is everything okay?"

I nodded, wiping the tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes before taking a deep breath. We needed to get back to the subject at hand. "So, what exactly does this protection detail mean for me?"

He was quickly back into business mode. "We will be with you everywhere you go, as well as stationed with your children."

"What about my husband?" I asked, fear starting to swell in my chest. "What about his safety?"

"He is going to have someone partnered with him, under cover. The last thing we want to do is totally uproot your entire family. If Mr. Anderson suspects too much, he might become desperate."

I nodded, putting my coffee once again to my lips but didn't drink. I had to get myself under control before I freaked out. I took a sip, closing my eyes for a moment and calming my heart rate.

"I need to go and speak with my husband, and pull my son from school." I spoke, beginning a list in my head. "I am sure that this means that he will have to be pulled from school?"

"No." He sipped his coffee. "We have spoken to the principle and she has agreed with letting us put a few men in the school as student teachers. Your son will be monitored his entire day and be safe."

I nodded, and took another sip. "I am assuming that this guarding will start immediately?"

He nodded. "I have my core team with me now. They will assist me as your personal guards. Where you go…we go." He smiled, and I couldn't help but to follow suit. His smile was soft and kind, showing how compassionate this rough-looking man was.

"Fabulous." My voice was a little shaky, but the attitude that was intended was still there. He smirked slightly and shook his head. "I have to check on my son before I head over to see my husband. He's instructing right now so he isn't going to be answering his phone."

Lynn strode back into the kitchen, closing the door separating the kitchen and living room and setting a small baby monitor on the stove.

"He's out cold again." She sighed.

"Night terror?" I asked, already knowing the answer. She nodded, sitting back into her chair and picking up her coffee.

"He has only woken up a few times, but thankfully he has gone right back to sleep." She took a sip of coffee and looked from Ranger to me. "So, what's the plan for my girl here?"

"I guess that I have a personal entourage."

"Nice. As long as they look like Rambo here, you'll be swimming in hotness." Lynn giggled as she watched my face redden.

"I don't know about that." Ranger said, shaking his head slightly. "But we are all fully trained and more than capable of maintaining the safety of the family. Although, I have been told that we are rather intimidating."

"Intimidating?" Lynn said. My mouth still agape at the hotness comment. "My husband is scary. You are a pretty boy. A little nerve-wracking…yes. But scary…nah…you aren't scary."

Ranger smiled, this time showing his teeth.

"Why don't you take Mr. Mysterious over here to visit with Bobby and I will keep Soren?" Lynn said, picking up a sugar cookie and dunking it in her coffee. "I'm sure that you would be done in time to get the kids from school."

"Mrs. Thompson, I would like to leave a few of my men here for Soren's protection. Would that be okay with you?"

"Only if you call me Lynn." She said, smiling. "Why don't you go and get your men and I will get some extra cups out."

"Lynn." Ranger began.

"Any one visiting my home is offered a cup of coffee, Ranger." She said blatantly. "And cookies, or sandwiches. I'm an Army wife…we are hospitable…not hostile."

Ranger chuckled at this and pushed himself back from the table. "That you are, Lynn, very hospitable. I will go and get them now."

"Let them know to be quiet..Soren is still sleeping and I would like to keep it that way."Lynn spoke sternly poking a finger in his direction. "And don't let the door slam when you go out."

"Yes, ma'am." Ranger said with a mock salute and a grin. We watched him gingerly shut the door behind him and walk down the drive to the awaiting SUV.

"I think that I am going to like that man." Lynn said, tipping her coffee up against her lips. I turned to look at her and smiled. Only Lynn would be able to communicate so casually with a man like Ranger, and then threaten bodily harm without breaking a sweat…or her smile. I watched as her facial expression changed and her mouth hung open, coffee cup stilled at her lips.

"What is it?" I asked turning my attention to the SUV. Three giant men piled out, and began walking towards the house. "My God, Lynn! Those men are HUGE!"

Lynn glanced back at her small kitchen table and then back to the men striding confidently towards her door. "Do you think they will fit?"

I laughed as a soft knock was rapped on the door. Without a second passing, the door slowly opened and Ranger walked in, followed by the three giants from the SUV.

"Mrs. Anne Coillier and Mrs. Lynn Thompson, these are my men Tank, Santos, and Cal." He pointed to each man as he named them. Tank was the largest, standing at I would guess at 6'8". He had to duck to walk in the door and was nervous about the ceiling fan. He had very dark skin, hair and eyes. It was obvious where he got the name Tank…he was definitely built like one. Santos was adorable. His height was closer to Ranger, but he wasn't as broad. His dark hair was spiked and bleached at the tips, matching the playful smirk on his face. He was obviously of Latino decent, with dark caramel skin and the most striking green eyes. Cal was the oddest of the bunch. They were all extremely attractive, and he was definitely of the same caliber. It was the giant flaming skull tattoo on his forehead that threw me for a loop. He has light brown almost blond hair cut short. He was taller than Ranger, but shorter than Tank and built like a professional wrestler. His eyes were soft grey and twinkled with mischief.

They nodded at their introduction, but stood stock still. Damn, military men don't know when to loosen up.

"Why don't you boys have a seat?" Lynn said, pulling out the cups from the cupboard and placing them on the counter next to the now full coffee pot.

"Thank you, ma'am." They said almost in unison before gingerly sitting down at the small table. Lynn was right to worry about the welfare of her table, as they all looked like they could render it to toothpicks in seconds.

"Cream, sugar?" I asked, gathering the essentials in my hands and setting them on the table.

"Anne, these men are just part of my team. The rest are monitoring your home, your oldest son at school and your husband. Santos and I are going to be with you to visit your husband, while Tank and Cal stay here with Lynn and Soren."

He looked at me as if my acceptance of this choice was needed. I shrugged my shoulders. "It doesn't matter. I don't know any of you from Adam."

"Anne, let's get you over to visit with your husband." Ranger gently put a hand on my elbow. "Thank you again, Lynn for offering your home to me and my men for the time being. We will be back shortly."

"I have my phone." I told Lynn, expressing wordlessly with my eyes that she should call me if anything were to happen. She smiled and shook her head.

"I am going to call Jake and let him know what's going on so he doesn't freak out when he gets home to find all these men in the kitchen. He might think that I've finally caved to one of his sick gang-bang fantasies."

All three of the men sitting at the table coughed, spitting coffee out of their mouth and hacking.

"Jesus." Santos gasped.

"Santos." Ranger barked, glaring at him.

"Sorry, boss." He replied. "Just..I had a flashback."

"Grandma Mazur?" Cal asked. Santos just nodded. "Shit, man..there's no way she is that bad."

I shook my head as I walked out the door…less afraid of Soren and Lynn and more fearful of Ranger's men not having permanent damage. Ranger beeped the SUV open as I unlocked my car's doors and pulled out my purse.

"I don't know how my husband is going to take to me showing up to his work with another man." I joked as Ranger opened the passenger side door.

"I am sure that he will understand once we explain everything."

"I hope for your sake he does." I giggled.

****AUTHOR's NOTE:

Okay, so this is the one story that I have started so far that I am just not sure if I am going to continue it. Let me know what you think. It's not really a traditional FF. Please review and let me know if I should continue it …or toss it in the lost cause folder.

As always, thanks for taking a chance at reading something I posted.


	2. Chapter 2

As we pulled up to the Cadre office, my nerves were getting the better of me. My husband was a very patient, caring, and loving man…but you mess with his family and friends and you have the wrath of God against you. Being a special forces trained Ranger and Sapper with Airborne and Air Assault qualifications his ERB (Enlisted Records Brief) read like a Rambo movie. His last deployment had left him injured, so much so that he was now stuck as an instructor until he could be cleared for regular field work. As you can imagine, he wasn't too pleased with being stuck with a bunch of wanna-be super-soldiers and couldn't wait to be cleared for action.

Most women would think I was nuts to believe the same thing. I always explained to them this. Imagine going to school for years (like a decade) where it kicked your ass. Now, imagine all that hard work, dedication and skill being wasted because you had to sit behind a desk. It's like grounding a pilot…but giving him a video game to keep him happy. Not the same thing. It's not that I want my husband in the middle of combat, but I trust his skills and instinct.

"Anne?" Ranger's voice broke me from my internal thought. He was standing, with the passenger door open, hand outstretched to help me out.

"Thank you." I said, grabbing his hand and hopping from the SUV. We walked up to the three story barracks to the CQ office in the lower level. This office is for the Cadre, or the bosses, of the company and usually had at least a desk sergeant sitting there to answer phones.

"Hey, Anne." Sgt. Jack Calloway greeted me as I walked in through the door, which Ranger had held open for you. Ever the gentleman, I notice.

"Hey, Jack." I smiled and waved. "Have you seen Bobby?"

"Yeah. He is just bringing his guys back from the range. He should be pulling in any second now." Jack stood and came up next to me. "Who's your friend?"

"Carlos Manoso. I'm a Anne's cousin." Ranger extended his hand. Jack looked from me to Ranger to me and back to Ranger. I'm sure that he was trying to figure out what part of the family tree Ranger had fallen from.

"Cousin, huh?" Jack raised his eyebrow and squared his shoulders as he crossed his massive uniformed arms across his chest.

"He's married to my cousin." I stated, rolling my eyes.

"Uh-huh." Jack didn't believe a word I said. Maybe I should've paid more attention during drama class. "Does Bobby know your _cousin_ is here visiting."

"Well, that's why I am here. They just flew in today for a visit." I was fiddling with the edge of my shirt, trying desperately not to look him in the eyes.

"Whatever." Jack shook his head and rounded the desk back to his post. "Truck just pulled up." He motioned with his head towards the back where the distinct rumble of a troop truck echoed through the wall. "I'll come out with you…just in case your _cousin_ shocks the crap out of old boy."

I glanced at Ranger who was sporting a miniscule smirk on his face.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked, shooting him a nasty look. "You're going to ruin my reputation. I'll have to sew a scarlet letter on all my clothes…and trust me…my sewing skills suck."

"HEY SEXY MAMA! I GOT THREE MINUTES OF HEAVEN FOR YA'…WANT ME TO TAKE YOU OUT BACK OR JUST LEAN YOU UP AGAINST THE DESK!" Garret, my husband's battle buddy, screamed from the back door through the entire building.

"Ruin your reputation?" Ranger asked me, eyebrow raised.

"Shut. Up." I growled, before stalking back to the loading door where Garrett and my husband were more than likely gathering.

"Hey, Sugar." Bobby said as I rounded the corner and walked to the already propped open door. "What are you doing.." He was cut off by the presence of Ranger, who stood hands on hips behind me.

"Coillier." Ranger said flatly.

"Manoso." Bobby growled out, his fists clenching tightly at his sides. "What the fuck are you doing with my wife?"

"Bobby, I have to talk to you. Can we go up in your office for a minute?" As I reached him, I grasped onto the sleeve of his uniform.

"Garrett…come with me." Bobby said, his jaw clenched as he gently led me by my arm past Ranger and back towards his office. Garrett followed Ranger, closing the door behind us all when he got inside.

"Are you okay, Sugar?" Bobby asked, holding onto my shoulders and crouching to stare into my eyes. He knows that I am a terrible liar and would know instantly if I wasn't okay.

"I'm fine, Love." I said, getting up on tippy toes and kissing him softly on the lips. "There's just something that Ranger and I need to talk about."

"Don't call him Ranger, Sugar." He glared at Ranger. "Just because he has the tab doesn't make him THE Ranger."

"Still pissy about Kabul, Coillier?" Ranger shook his head and leaned up against the file cabinet by the doorway.

"Still pissy?" Bobby screeched. "Still PISSY! You cost me my fucking job you asswipe!" Bobby had pulled me behind him protectively as he almost shook with anger.

"This is the prick?" Garrett howled, pointing at Ranger and pushed himself off the door he had been leaning against. "I thought they dishonorably discharged your sorry ass. What the fuck are you doing here?"

Ranger took a deep breath, and cracked his neck. "I was hoping that we could put the past behind us and work on the current situation."

"What fucking situation? All I see is you harassing my wife." Bobby was starting to pant with anger, so I rubbed soft circles on his back.

"Love, please. Listen." I whispered.

"Five Minutes, Manoso. If I don't see a _situation_ in that time…I'm gonna have to kick your ass."

"Francis Anderson." Ranger said. Bobby's mouth dropped open. "He's after your wife, has top secret military Intel in his pocket and is being targeted by the same terrorist cell that left you non-deployable. They found out about his fascination with your wife, and is trying to get her out of country. I was called to make sure that no harm would come to your family, and to take the son of a bitch in."

"Fuck." Bobby slumped down into his rolling office chair and pulled me into his lap. Wrapping his arms around me, he kissed my hairline. "Why did they send you? They have to understand that you and I have a _strained_ working relationship."

"I volunteered." Ranger said matter of factly. This was followed by a good five minutes of silence and concentrated stares towards each other. Finally, I couldn't take it.

"So…are you two done measuring your dicks? My kids are probably waiting for me." I crossed my hands over my chest and "hrmped"

"Where are the kids?" Bobby said, finally breaking the staring contest with Ranger to look at me.

"Lynn has Soren and Kolton is at school."

"I have three men with Mrs. Thompson. I have on more inside the school undercover as an Teacher's aide, two more outside watching entrances and exits. My secondary team is waiting for us to get to your home where there we'll keep our home base."

"I don't have that many beds." I said nervously as I counted bodies in my head.

Ranger chuckled. "We have hotel rooms close by. There will always be someone with you, but no one will sleep at your residence unless the need arises." He took a deep breath and looked at Bobby. "You will also have a detail."

"Fuck that." Bobby spat. "I can take care of myself."

"This is less about you being able to handle yourself and more about making sure that we have all of our asses covered. The last thing we need is some rogue man getting stupid and people getting hurt."

"Fair enough." Bobby ran a hand through his hair. "Who is it?"

"His name is Hal Owens. He's part of my core team. A Sapper just like yourself. You should get along just fine. He will be taking the place of your third platoon leader. You're going to be running heavy this week, so the added body won't be taken as odd."

"So, you are responsible for taking care of my wife and children…and I guess me…so this home-grown terrorist doesn't get out of the country with top secret Intel and my Anne." Bobby sighed as Ranger nodded. "And I am supposed to be okay with this?"

"There's no other way to be." Ranger said flatly.

"Fine. But you put one fucking hand on my wife. I WILL kill you."

"Understood."

"Get my children. Take my wife home and keep her safe. I will be home around 1900. I expect your presence not to disrupt my home. We have small children, and they really don't need to see what's going on." Bobby looked to me. "Tell the kids they are friends of Daddy's that are visiting for a while. Soren won't really care, but Kolton is too curious for his own good."

"Yes, Love." I kissed him softly on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." He picked me up off his lap and put me on my feet. "everything will be just fine. Just do what you normally do. Call me if anything happens." I nodded and smiled as he playfully swatted me on the butt. "I mean it Manoso…anything even smells funny when I get home…I am taking it out on you."

"You have my word, Coillier."

With that we left, walking in silence to the car. The ride back to Lynn's was just as quiet, with only the occasional glance over to me from Ranger. This whole day was a cluster fuck. I just wanted to get home and relax…but I had a feeling that it would be the last thing happening tonight.

**Thank you all for your great reviews. I am going to try to have an update for this story once a week. I also have another story in the works….BLACKMAIL AND BOOTYCALLS…check it out! Please REVIEW! It really helps me figure out where I am going to go with the damned thing. **


	3. Chapter 3

***Author's note…

Okay…so here's the thing.

I noticed that I forgot to mention that Santos was with them when they went to visit Bobby. I will edit it later…but for now I will just let you know that he rode with them in silence, got out with them, but stayed as century by the door. He wasn't meant to speak during this time…just to be a presence. I know that Ranger would never do anything without back-up…especially if he knew that there was bad blood between him and Bobby.

Soren is pronounced as So-wren…like the slang way of saying soarin'. It's a Scandinavian name that roughly means "stern or severe". It was one of the names that I had picked out for my youngest child.

Coillier and Ranger do have a history..and it's not that great. I am hoping to get into that within the next couple of chapters..but for now…well, just read to find out.

Thank you all for your positive reviews. It really is motivating for me, so keep it up!

Now…back to the story….

We drove back to Lynn's, parked and got out of the SUV. Santos walked to the back of the SUV, calling over his shoulder that he would be checking in with the other team members. Ranger nodded slightly as he put a hand to my back and lead me inside. Lynn and I have are close enough that knocking isn't really necessary. In fact, every time I do she yells at me. The kitchen was empty. Used coffee cups and cookie crumbs adorned the small kitchen table.

"Lynn?" I asked, stomping my feet and slipping off my coat and setting it on the closest chair.

"In the living room, hon!" Lynn's voice boomed from behind the kitchen door.

"Jesus!" A loud male voice yelped before a loud crashing noise. Ranger and I stopped dead in our tracks for a millisecond before running to investigate. Rounding into the living room I stopped, mouth agape and stared at the sight in front of me. The two large men were laying on the floor in front of the TV. They were in a pile of tangled arms and legs, with two small white controllers and cables between them. Cal, the man with the tat on his head, had his legs tangled up in the Wii remote cable and sprawled on top of Tank who also had a white cable going across his chest and the controllers under each shoulder. Lynn was laughing, clutching her sides as Soren, clad only in a diaper, continued to body slam the men.

"MY SHAKE-SHAKE!" He screamed, desperately scrambling for the Wii remote that was underneath the Tank's left shoulder. "MY SHAKE-SHAKE, HULK! MINE!"

"Cal, get off of me man and give the kid the remote!" Tank grunted from the bottom of the pile. Soren jumped again on Cal's back, right between the shoulder blades as he spoke causing it to come out as a grunt.

"Trying, man."

Chuckling, Ranger reached down and hauled Soren off with one arm, flipping him up over his shoulder while he grabbed the back of Cal's shirt and pulled him up onto his feet. As Cal untangled the mess of cable around him, Tank pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"What the hell is going on?" I finally gasped through my laughter.

"Well, Soren woke up a few minutes after you left and wanted to play Ravin' Rabbids. These two decided that it was an easy game and wanted a crack at it." Lynn was wiping tears from her eyes. "Tank tripped over Cal's boot, and Cal twisted himself into his cable."

"Mama. Hulk smash shake-shake." Soren said to me, his elbows resting on Ranger's back. "Me go pouf-pouf. Hulk cry." Ranger looked to me to translate.

"He said that Tank, who he has decided is the Hulk, broke the Wii. Then he hit him, and now Tank is going to cry." I was smiling ear to ear, which made talking extremely difficult.

"Hulk?" Ranger said, putting Soren down who immediately ran and jumped into my arms.

"Yeah…" Tank said, rubbing a large hand over his bald head. "I guess I look like Hulk."

"Nice." Ranger said, extending his hand and helping Tank to his feet. "Report."

"Nothing to, Ranger." He handed Lynn the controller, and turned back to Ranger. "Kid woke up, took a dump, ate a cookie and beat the crap out of us." I giggled.

There was a knock on the door, and then a voice echoed through the kitchen.

"Ranger?" Santos' called. "Bomber is in place with the secondary team. They are heading back to the residence. It's almost time for us to get the other kid from school."

A watched as a small smile lit up Ranger's face, but was quickly replaced with a blank facial expression. This 'Bomber' must be someone close to him.

"Please tell me that Bomber is just a nickname for someone who really enjoys 1940's pinup?" Lynn said. "I don't think that we would be safe with an EOD specialist with the Coillier kids."

"Stephanie is one of my team, and she isn't EOD." Ranger said, motioning to Tank and Cal to move. "We need to get going. We are going to pull your son out a few minutes early and head back to your home. Unless you have anything else you need to do before we go."

"No..I did all my errands earlier. In fact, that was what I was doing before you came along." I leaned down and picked up the diaper bag that was perched next to the sofa and grabbed Soren's stuffed Frog and his silky blue blanket. "Lynn, are you still coming over tonight?"

"I can…" She looked from Ranger to me. "Unless you think that maybe it would be a bad time?"

"No." Ranger said. "We are going to try to make your life as normal as possible."

"Okay then." Lynn stood, pulling her cell phone out from her pocket. "I will text Jake and tell him to pick up the kids."

"I can get them when I get Colton?" I said, slipping on Soren's shoes, coat, hat and mittens. Lynn nodded and put her phone away. "I can just bring them out to the house with me."

"If that's okay with you and your superhero squad here…" Lynn said, motioned with her head towards Ranger and his men, who just nodded dumbly.

"Good then I will see you in about an hour and a half." Lynn reached down and hugged and kissed Soren before doing the same for me. "Be safe. Text me when you get home."

"I will." I reached down to grab the diaper bag but Ranger had beaten me to it. "Thank you." Turning back to Soren I put my arms out. "Time to go, Soren."

"No Mama! Hulk up!" Soren ran to Tank and wrapped his arms around his legs. "Hulk UP! Hulk UP!"

"I guess he wants you to carry him." I giggled at Tank, who stared at Soren with a horrified expression. "If you don't want to it's fine. But you aren't going to break him."

I watched as Tank leaned down and put his arms out. Before he could grab him, Soren had leapt up and wrapped his arms around the large man's neck. Tank laughed and stood, wrapping an arm under Soren's butt.

"Kids look good on you, Big Man." Lynn said giggling.

"Let's roll out." Ranger said, putting a hand at my back. "Thank you again, Lynn. We will see you soon."

"See you later!" Lynn called out as we all trooped out the door and to the vehicles.

Tank walked over to my SUV, pulling open the door and setting Soren into his car seat. He fumbled with the buckles for a little bit before calling over his shoulder to Santos.

"Santos!" He barked. "How you do this?"

"Tank, it's just a four point harness. You can figure it out." Santos opened the other back door and crept into the seat. I could hear Soren giggling as the two men tried to figure it out. After a few minutes the two men crawled out from my SUV and closed the door. "He's in like Hannibal Lector…not gonna move an inch."

I laughed. "This is going to be an interesting night for you guys isn't it?"

"We don't get a lot of time with little kids." Ranger said, standing next to me. "I'll drive your vehicle. Tank will drive mine. First stop is the school, then off to the house."

"Sounds good to me." I handed him the keys and slid into the front seat of my car. Things looked so different from the passenger seat. The ride to the school was uneventful, the only sounds were Soren battling in the back seat with his Iron Man toy and a t-rex. I guess the t-rex won. Both SUV's pulled up in front of the school and I reached to get out.

"You and I will go in. I'm going to leave Tank and Santos here with Soren. If that's okay with you?" Ranger said. I nodded and watched as Tank lumbered out of his SUV and towards ours, followed by Les.

Ten minutes later we were in the SUVs pulling out of the school parking lot with an exuberant first grader, a trapped two and a half year old, a sexy bodyguard, the "Hulk" and myself. I giggled as I glanced into the backseat finding that Tank was squished between Soren's car seat and Kolton's booster seat. His shoulders were pinched forward and the look of pure discomfort was on his face.

"Are you really the Hulk?" Kolton asked, folding his hands in his lap and staring at Tank.

"Uh…no." Tank grumbled

"You can tell me, you know." Kolton continued. "I won't let anyone know your secret iden-tibby. Just like I don't tell anyone that Daddy is really Captain America." Kolton's eyes got really big. "I wasn't 'posed to tell anyone. You have to keep it secret."

"I promise. Not a soul." Tank chuckled and Kolton let out an loud sigh of relief.

"Good. Because the Justice League wouldn't be happy to hear that I told their secret."

"Captain America, huh?" Ranger asked me, focusing my attention back to the front of the vehicle.

"Yeah. A few years ago Bobby dressed up like Capt. America for Halloween. Kolton is convinced that he's the one and only, and we've never had the heart to correct him."

"I understand that completely." Ranger smiled.

"Do you know any other superheroes?" Kolton asked Tank.

"Only Batman, little guy." Tank chuckled. "And Wonder Woman."

Ranger sat up stiffly in his seat and eyed Tank in the rear view mirror.

"Really…that's cool!" Kolton was waving his hand animatedly in his seat. "Do you think I'll get to meet them?"

"Well, Batman is driving and Wonder Woman is at your house waiting for us to get here."

"AWESOME!"

"So…Batman, huh?" I giggled, poking fun at Ranger. "Did you bring your cape?"

"Tank, I'd call you to the mats but I think I'll just stick the little guy on you later." Ranger gritted through teeth, but I could tell he was amused.

"That's harsh, boss." Tank said, a big smile across his face.

***Another chapter done…submitted and awaiting your review. This story is very personal for me…as I have included a great deal of my personal life into it. I hope that you are all enjoying it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Not mine…except for those you don't recognize…those are all mine.**

A sigh hitched in my chest as we pulled up to my two-story home. There were two large black SUVs parked on the street in front of the house and a man standing guard at the door. I could see movement in the windows and began to worry that they had broken into my home. While I knew they weren't harmful, it was a little disconcerting.

"We are a security firm, Anne. We know how to get into any door." Ranger said, sensing my concern. I looked towards him and raised my eyebrow. "If it makes you feel better, you have a pretty good system already in place."

"Not really." I shook my head. "Sorry, it's just a weird feeling."

"Understandable." He reached up on my visor and pressed the garage door remote, signaling the door to open. He pulled in and closed the door behind as he cut the engine. Pulling Soren and Kolton from their seats, and grabbing the diaper bag and Kolton's book bag I headed for the door.

As I dropped the bags onto the living room sofa, I heard a small stampede and giggling.

"Aunty Annie! Aunty Annie!" Kailie, Lynn's 6 year old daughter ran up to me. After launching herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing my cheek. "We got to ride in the big black car. It was so cool. They have all kinds of buttons and stuff…plus…" She cupped her hand next to her mouth and loudly whispered, "they have guns. Lots of them. Isn't that cool!"

"That is very cool, Kailie." I set her back down on the floor. "Where's your sister?"

"Ronnie is still outside. She's in love." Her voice was sing-songy. I sighed. Ronnie was 11 and had recently discovered boys. "Why don't you sit down and turn on cartoons and I will get you all a snack after I go and get Ronnie."

"Okay Aunty Annie." Kailie plopped down on the leather loveseat and grabbed the remote from the coffee table, expertly turning on the television and navigating to Nickelodeon. Soren and Kolton followed suit and sat intently watching the colorful cartoons on the TV.

I walked back out the front door, making sure to leave it open. There, Ronnie was standing next to a group of men dressed head to toe in black smiling like crazy. I giggled at the sight and walked to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumped before turning to face me.

"Hi, Aunty Annie." She said, blush immediately spreading across her face and neck.

"What cha doing, pumpkin?" I asked, tugging her back pack off her back and flipping it onto my own.

"Uhhh…nothing." She kicked an imaginary rock with the toe of her sneaker.

"Do you want to meet them?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded, wrapping her arm around my waist. Stepping up towards the men, I cleared my throat gaining their attention immediately. "Hello. My name is Annie Coillier. This is Ronnie Thompson." They took my cue immediately and began introducing themselves, smiling sweetly at Ronnie and nodding to me.

"Bobby Brown." A handsome black man said first. He must be at least 6'2" with broad shoulders and his hair cut short. He had beautiful hazel eyes that sparkled when he smiled. His voice was deep and thick with an east coast accent. "I'm the company's medic."

"Anthony Ramos." The second man said. He was olive skinned with beautiful green eyes. Again, over six feet tall with shoulders only football players and drag queens seems to have. He too had an accent, but this one seemed a little more southern. "You can call me Ram."

"Thomas Quiggley." The third man said. He was pale, with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a cute smirk. He was a little shorter than the other two, but well over my height. "The guys call me Zero, but I'll answer to just about anything."

The last man was quiet, looking from one man to another before looking Ronnie and I over head to toe. He was the only guy that actually looked terribly scary. He was short, compared to the giants surrounding him, but still tall in his own right at about 5'10". His built was lean but with a great deal of muscle, almost like a martial artist. The most striking difference between him and the other men, other than his size, were the tattoos that littered his entire body…especially the tear drops under his eye.

"Hector Rodriguez." He said with a thick Spanish accent. "No English. Lo siento."

"Sorry, Ms. Coillier, but Hector doesn't speak English." Ram said, patting Hector on the shoulder. "He may look a little scary, but he's a pussy cat." The other men laughed. Hector looked from one to the other trying to figure out what was going on.

" Soy Annie. Se trata de Ronnie. Carnero aquí se nos dice cómo usted puede mirar da miedo, pero usted es realmente un gatito." I rattled off, smiling. Hector smiled and put out his hand. _{I'm Annie. This is Ronnie. Ram here was telling us how you may look scary, but you are really a pussy cat.}_

"Es un placer conocerte, Annie ... Ronnie. No creo que me da miedo, pero yo soy apenas un gatito. Tal vez voy a tener que mostrar el resultado de algunas de las fotos que tomé de él llorando como una niña cuando miramos el ordenador portátil el verano pasado." Hector winked at me and I laughed. {It's nice to meet you, Annie...Ronnie. I don't think that I am scary, but I am hardly a pussy cat. Maybe I will have to show you some of the pictures I took of him crying like a little girl when we watched the Notebook last summer.}

I giggled and glanced over at Ram, who was whipping his head from Hector back to me and then back to Hector.

"I think that I've missed something." Ram was blushing slightly, trying to distract attention from his obvious mistake of my ability to speak Spanish.

"It's okay, Ram." I assured him, gently patting his upper arm. "I'm sure every grown man has cried watching that movie. It's only natural. The storyline was amazing."


End file.
